Behind the Bedroom Wall (Dead)
by Miki x Moon
Summary: Len was obsessed with Rin. He went crazy whenever she wasn't near him, speaking to him, or touching him. His nature had never been thought of as serious until a certain incident occurred. No one knows what Rin or Len are thinking or how they're feeling. And as each person begins a journey of their own through their memories, they find things that not even the police had been told.
1. Neru

**_Len was obsessed with Rin. He went crazy whenever she wasn't near him, speaking to him, or touching him. His nature had never been thought of as serious until a certain incident occurred. No one knows what Rin or Len are thinking or how they're feeling. And as each person begins a journey of their own through their memories, they find things that not even the police had been told._**

_**Another collaboration.* (See author's notes below)**_

_**[Cover illustrated by Pixiv ID 5495992**_

* * *

**Haku Yowane**

The coffee was brewing in our private hotel room. That's another thing I remember quite clearly before the event.

It was on the top floor, and the other rooms were vacant and empty due to our manager's request.

I'd mixed the concoction so we could stay up, as we needed the right beverage to keep our train of thought moving. Our eyes were secured on papers, tackling our schedules and picking out which breaks would be best to spend some time together without travelling too far from our studios. We're good friends, after all. She has a kind nature, and I can't help but be grateful that we are.

I recall myself noticing there weren't anything to eat for breakfast the next morning, and I wasn't going to trouble the chefs downstairs to cook for us personally, so I informed Rin that I was going to be out for a while to get some groceries. She nodded happily, and then resumed reading. She told me to be safe.

I only quietly bid farewell, slipped on some shoes and went out the door. The last thing I saw was her tender smile as she looked at the proposal ring on her finger, unaware of what was to become of her while I was gone. When I was at the market, the tuna was on sale and I thought briefly of a young woman, only a couple years my senior, who loved that type of meat. Luka. Rin's friends were mine too because she introduced them all to me if I happened to be in the presence of one, and I liked that. She chose good friends.

But... I suppose, you can't choose who you're related to, can you?

The hospital's colors are so bleak and depressing. People come and go past me, none of whom I am acquainted with, off with their own problems. I'm sure they haven't an idea that something awful just happened. Sinful, even. It is bitter, the way I think this, but what am I to do? I am sitting outside Rin's assigned room, waiting for the nurse to come out and allow me to enter. I hope that Rin is okay.

When I came back, the hotel door was shut, of course. But a chill ran up my spine. Something just seemed wrong. Then I opened the door. "Rin, I'm back," was what I said, tentatively. The ivory curtains on the window weren't swept back, but the hallway provided enough light to chase away the darkness.

My eyes had roamed around the room, momentarily pausing on the bed and moving on, but then retreating back. Then the bag of grocery bags dropped onto the carpet and out of my limp fingers with a soft, barely audible thud. Panic rose inside me, but I didn't dare move. Fright just froze me. I felt my skin pale into a ghostly white as splinters of terror iced through.

The nurse comes out of the room, affords to give me a look of sympathy, and then says it's fine for me to go in now. I nod, surging out of my seat and thanking her politely. When she departs, I stare at the door as though it's an entrance to death. I don't want to see her, looking so broken. I don't want to see her sad face. I don't want to see her eyes brimming with betrayal, even if they aren't directed towards me. But then I remind to myself that Rin's inside and she needs me. A source of comfort, somehow, as the person she was supposed to trust more than anyone else in the world had caused this.

Defiled. Touched.

My hand wrenches the doorknob open, and I watch as the thin ray of light from the room I am in widens as though it's a folding fan. It reminds me so much of the incident that I almost close the door right there. But I don't. I swallow the golf ball down my throat. He's not here, Haku. He won't hurt Rin any more than he already has. Repeating those notices to myself silently, I finally make my way in.

The door shuts with a click, me standing against it and staring at the floor. Rin says nothing, either actually asleep or pretending and thinking. I close my eyes, clasping my hands together in a form of a prayer. I can't help but wonder why it had to be Rin.

The mattress had creaked in protest constantly, and despite that I could still hear my hammering heartbeat. Rin was there on the bed, underneath whoever was assaulting her. His hands had fought purchase into the white ruffled pillows, his ragged breathing matching with Rin's whose fingernails left crescent moons on his bare back. Her ring was gone. From the vantage view, I could spot dried tear-tracks on her face, her eyes squeezed shut. Her bangs clung to her forehead, her legs wound around his back forcibly. The faintest of red hand imprints prevailed on her thighs. They didn't notice my presence.

It occurred to me that the person had blond hair. No one else had blond hair with such a spitting resemblance to her that I knew of besides the young woman's twin brother. That is when it clicked. I felt my stomach lurch as the realization knocked into me like a load of bricks.

I had only watched in horror for a few seconds, when his motions slowed down. He had shuddered deeply and impelled back only one last, desperate time. He'd murmured, "RinRinRin..." to her neck. It was like a broken recorder before it faded away into inaudible whispers, words that I couldn't read by the lips nor hear by the ears, and then finally heavy pants.

_Len_.

An anguished scream had reverberated throughout the top floor of the hotel.

* * *

**Client 01**

**Name: Neru A.**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: Nineteen years, seven months**

**Information: Long-term friend of Rin K., Neru was called at 4:49 A.M. in her apartment by a mutual friend of the victim, Haku Y. who was in Japan. Haku, on Rin's behalf, told her to come over. Neru is blunt, sometimes rambles off but cares for her friend. Neru describes the victim's brother generally protective, never wanting to leave Rin's side. She claims that the behavior started in middle school, peaking at an incident involving a childhood friend. She doesn't say much else, because she says she doesn't feel well enough to speak more.**

* * *

A shrill ringing strikes my ears, shocking me out of a deep slumber. My heart bucks, panic shortening my breath as wide, partly blurry eyes flit around to find the source of the noise. My hands toss away the hot blanket off my legs, and I distinguish the vibrating cellphone on the nightstand with the caller ID and photo of the person provided on the luminous screen.

Haku. Calling from Japan, all the way across the globe. A call at this hour warns disheartening news. The fact that the frequency of her calls aren't so high must definitely mean something's gone horribly wrong, I think to myself.

Then the phone topples and clatters on the shiny hardwood floor of my bedroom, fleeing under the bed. It's disrupting enough to stir the kitten curled up on the foot of my mattress out of his slumber, instantly making him hiss and have a beeline for the door. I don't bother stopping him, even as he deposits gray fur on the way out, just cursing under my breath and and frustratedly slithering out from underneath my blankets. Plaid pajamas-clad behind in the air, I grope for the phone as my fingers rummage about beneath.

I feel something, definitely not the phone but an article of clothing. I pull it out anyway to squint at it in the dim light of the moon cast through my window without a single idea of what it could be.

A pair of yellow-lace panties. So that's where they went. I toss it to the left corner of my room carelessly, returning to my exposition by rolling off the bed and slamming onto the ground.

Pressing my left cheek to the cold floor, my hand chases away dust bunnies while I reach for my phone, still trilling louder than ever. Just barely feeling the hard plastic, I tease it into my awaiting grasp. Once it's recovered, I sigh in relief and press the green 'answer button', holding the device near my ear and cutting to the chase right away.

"Haku! What's the matter?" I demand urgently. "Did something happen?! Where's Rin?!"

Her quiet voice floats over the line, like she's straining not to squeak. "A-Ah, good morning, Neru. Are you doing well? I...I'm sorry if I woke you up or anything." I furrow my eyebrows, the realization slowly dawning on me that she just wanted a simple conversation. Or so it appears. If she does, then she could have called me later at least.

"_Of course_ you did," I snarl into the phone, leaning back against the bed. Woke up for nothing after all. There's a crash somewhere in my kitchen, the rattle of pans and pots, then a _mrow_! I start to sit up a little to find what's the source of the noise, but then resume back to my previous position. It's probably just the little rascal from six paragraphs ago, stirring up trouble.

"No need to get snarky with me, Neru," she says exasperatedly, as though she's a mother scolding her child. "It is only, after all—" There's a pause as she no doubt consults her watch. "_Oh_. I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was only five A.M."

"Four," I correct, then continue, my words deliberately punctuated with a period, "_Why_ are you calling me right now?" Can't quite keep the irritation out of my tone. Nobody likes being woke up at this time of the day. Especially if you were in a nice slumber, might I add. My eyes land on the mirror hanging on the wall, and I manage to make out dark circles encompassing my eyes. Well.

"I always forget about the time difference. I'm sorry." I roll my eyes, but smile slightly at her apologetic tone. You can't stay mad at Haku. She just seems so genuinely sorry about it that you feel all guilty for snapping at her in the first place. She really means no harm. But still? Waking me up at four in the morning? That's like a death wish.

"So nothing's wrong?" I ask, like I'm clarifying. I run my index finger under my eye, then pulling at the skin with the addition of my thumb to see if there's a bag. Seeing as it doesn't stretch so much, I relax with ease.

"Um... Well, actually..." Her voice trails off. I picture her twirling the cord of the phone with her finger.

"Then, call me back in a few hours, okay? Maybe... say, eleven o'clock?" I bargain, not intending to go any earlier than that. I've been working my butt off for the past week. Even if you work at Starbucks and it doesn't pay well, it's always bustling with business because of the coffee addicts. And this week, for whatever reason, more have been rushing in. I'm hardly ever surprised if people comment that I always smell of freshly-brewed cocoa beans. Not that I'm complaining. It's actually a good gig overall, and it just so happens that I like the scent.

"No!"

"Well then, Haku, what do you want me to do?"

There's a pause, and then I hear voices in the background. Is that Rin? Man. She sounds quieter than usual. I can't make out what they're even saying. I press my ear closer, hoping that somehow I'll be able to sneak in on their secret conversation. It's to no avail, because Haku disrupts my tactic by finally speaking to me before I can actually hear some of the exchange of words.

"Um... C-Can you come over and visit?" she requests meekly. "R-Rin and I miss you."

Miss me?

* * *

I've been friends with Rin elementary. One day, she fell in the sandbox at the school playground. She wasn't pushed. No, no. She was clumsy enough to fall in, so I took the liberty to help her up. I dusted off the sand from her clothes, extended a hand and introduced myself. And from that moment on, we were best friends. Sure, we're total opposites. She's gentle, I'm manipulative. She likes puppies, I like kittens. She doesn't speak her mind, while I can blurt out anything I'm thinking. I don't like holding back thoughts. If I do, it'll just gnaw at my mind and when I snap it's like a tsunami.

But the thing is, the reason I like her as a friend so much is because if you look at it in some way, we were sorta dependent on each other. I defended her if she ever needed it, even threatening whoever bothered her. If I ever was on the brink of getting myself in a fight, she'd drag me right out before I was sent to reform school. Our personalities are supposed to clash, but somehow it fits. For once in my life, I actually believed that opposites attracted.

In the gym locker room, I kicked off my black converses. When they landed on the floor, I bent down to pick them up, grimacing at how soggy they were from the mile run outside earlier. I hadn't scored very well as it turned out I wasn't much of a runner. Because of that, I was one of the last to finish. As I tossed the sneakers inside the compartment, it clanged against the gray metal, alarming Rin who was beside me sitting on the bench changing back to her normal clothes too.

Once she recovered, she went on ahead to scold me. "Don't throw them like that!"

"What difference does it make?" I quibbled, my voice muffled by my shirt's fabric as I pulled it on. "It's already loud in here anyways. Idiots yell to each other for perfume, slam locker doors shut, and nearly flood the bathroom running the water in the sinks." She squinted her eyes at me for a moment, her mouth opening to defend her side of the argument, but then her expression changed back to one of submission.

"Fine," she sighed. She stood up to put on her skirt. "I wish you'd be a little bit more gentle with your things, though."

I smiled at her, took out my hairbrush, beginning to comb my hair vigorously. "I take care of my phone just fine. How was the mile run in your class?" Despite having P.E. in the same period, it was to our unfortunate awareness that we did not share the same coach so we couldn't run alongside each other. She had the privilege of running inside (with air conditioning), because their coach was actually merciful, while I had to run outside with the dirt in all its muddy glory. The weather had also been rather moist, as it had recently rained.

"Tiring." Rin frowned, shimmying the white skirt up to her hips and adding, "Annoying. The boys won't leave me alone."

"Some of them are actually cute, you know," I informed lightly, setting down the brush into the locker and circling my hair into a side ponytail with a black bobble striped with yellow. Rin was kind-of-sort-of-maybe popular with the boys in the school. I don't blame them really. She's really cute. Plus, her personality is appealing. It was too bad she couldn't tell them off. It's not that she was afraid of their reaction if she rejected... Well, actually that was the case. She doesn't like hurting people's feelings. It's not in her blood or so she claimed. "Like... hmm... Leon. You like blonds, don't you?"

"Hush!" She shot me a playful pout. When finished with the task of putting her skirt on, she sat back down to wear her flats. Girly, girly. I put up with her pastel fashion taste anyway, regardless of how strange it looked with my black-and-yellow style. "He's not my type. And I'm not really interested in dating right now."

"Dude, we're in _eighth _grade. It's about time you get yourself a man," I declared decidedly. Tapping my finger on her nose, I told her, "Tell you what. I'll hook you up with Piko. You know, that really shy but extremely pretty boy in our next class? I think you two would make an excellent couple."

Rin winced. Either at the thought of Len being upset, or because of the way I phrased it. Rin, hooking up with Piko. Ha ha. "I don't think Len will like that. And you barely talk to Piko, on account of the fact you two sit so far away from each other." Right. Akita and Utatane. Our class seating arrangement was based on last names in alphabetical order. I sat way in the front, to my distaste, while Piko sat on the other side of the room. Still, it was worth a shot, wasn't it?

"Piko doesn't talk to _anyone._ Besides, what if you guys end up being married someday? Then you'll look back on this talk and laugh."

She blushed, to my triumph. "But what about Len?"

"Len doesn't like anyone who pays attention to you," I teased. "Piko will be a nice choice. He's so shy that he'll barely do anything that will anger Len. It took months for _him_ to accept me. What's his deal again?"

"Nothing." She shrugged, closing her locker and hooking her black lock back on it. "He's always been like that. It's a twin thing, I guess."

I know there's some sort of myth-ish thing that tells us that twins are really close. But Rin and Len being really close? Biggest understatement of the century. Len's class wasn't too far from the locker room and he always waited outside so he could walk Rin off to her next class while I remained by her side silently. Silently, because Len was all "mine, mine, mine!" with Rin and I could barely join in on the conversation they have. He's so sweet, right?

Uh... no. They're intimately close like a Chinese finger trap. You know, Rin being the finger and Len being the trap that constricts her. I don't really get the whole concept of close twins, to be honest. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Like, you shared a womb with another kid and automatically you're close just like that.

I would get pretty sick of my twin, especially if they're smarter in academics. People will compare me to them all the freaking time. For instance, "Oh, look at Nero! He's so smart! What happened to you?" See, that is Rin's case. Well, halfway. Len does happen to be, well, technically more intelligent. School-wise. Her parents don't compare them, though. I think it's because her parents are really nice, which must be where Rin's good-natured traits were passed off from. My parents, however, can be very strict. I don't wash the dishes one night and immediately I bring shame to the family. It's not like I'm doing crack cocaine or anything, right? But hey, thank goodness I don't have a twin.

I shut my locker and slung my bookbag over my right shoulder. "My mom says your brother has a sister complex," I mentioned as we walked out of our section of the locker room. "You know, that 'disorder' where a brother has excessive love for his sibling to the point it gets past the sibling love thing? To the point it probably gets all steamy?" Her eyes widened in horror, her head turning to the side to look at me. Her mouth opened constantly, but shut each time because she might have been trying to hold back some insults. When we reached the exit, she finally responded. Err, protested rather.

"Len's not like that, though."

"I'm not like what?" Speak of the devil. Sure enough, Len was waiting. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest in impatience. Because they're twins, they look pretty alike. I admit, he _is _attractive. Though, sometimes he has this intensity in his eyes that scares the crap out of me. So I refuse to make a move on him. That, and the thought of dating my best friend's twin brother is kind of weird.

"None of your business," I sang all cheerfully, letting the heavy doors close behind us. I linked arms with Rin, making her bristle in surprise. She was still sensitive to a touch, seeing as she'd never really interacted with much people before a certain blessing came along. In other words, yours truly. "So! To science, Princess Rin and the troll that lives under the bridge?"

"Right," he said flatly, pretending to ignore my little insult. I smirked back, unabashed by his tone. "Science." He stepped on over next to his sister, briefly darting his eyes over to Rin's attire before looking away again.

Rin nibbled on her lower lip, something she did when she sensed something was wrong. We'd walked in silence for a while until she broke the stalemate, just asking that.

"It's fine," he reassured, his tone abruptly sweet like honey. Still, his eyes said otherwise. She sent somewhat of a glare in my direction, since I was probably at fault for making him grumpy. I shrugged innocently, then proceeded to whip out my phone. Time to check Facebook while it's still safe. The principal allowed us to use our cellphones in the hallways but not in class, and the Internet back at home wasn't working. When I went on, though, I noticed the app was still logged in on Rin's account. I mischievously smiled. She forgot to log off. I was going to type up a status, something stupidly lame like "Neru was here, mwuaha c:" until my eyes caught sight of a friend request notification.

My interest sharpened.

Like the nosy person I was and am, I pressed on it to see who sent it. Some guy named Oliver. I would have immediately accepted it for Rin for the sake of her love life, but didn't.

"Hey, Rin," I called, looking up from the screen and handing her my phone. "You know anybody named Oliver something? Amber eyes. Blondie."

Her eyes brightened instantly in recognition. I could have sworn Len tensed up more than he already was. "Ollie!" Beaming, she stared at the glowing screen. "We were friends back when we were little. But I moved away..." I watched as she accepted the friend request, with Len looking over her shoulder to see. When she was finished, she logged off and returned the device back to me, her smile still existent. "I can't wait to talk to him. I wonder if he's still as nice." I pinched her waist, which made her yelp.

"Someone's got a crush~!"

"Do not!" she denied, swatting my arm with a free hand.

"Do too!" I insisted unrelentingly. Tucking the phone back into my pocket, I grinned. "You've got taste, Rin. I have to admit that. Hey, Len. Hear that? Rin here has a crush, and it isn't your sorry ass!"

"Neru, I don't _like _him like that...!"

To this day, I'm not sure if she was referring to Len or Oliver. At the time, I'd only laughed and continued to joke around. And now, I wonder to myself if I was the root of the incident.

_"To love to the point of **madness**. And the need for the love to be returned to the point of **corruption**..."_

* * *

**Yet another collab because I don't know how to write out the next chapter of Beautiful Hangover, Tokioo's a lazy bum who didn't feel like writing anything by herself, both of us were fairly uninterested in writing the next chapter of Burst Your Bubble, at the moment, and we wanted an experiment. DON'T SHOOT, I'LL GO PEACEFULLY. **

**I pray that the scene in the beginning wasn't too graphic or didn't startled some readers. (She let me take over that certain "part" because she was embarrassed) But I personally plan to possibly censor the final chapter (Len's POV, mind you) and publish the uncensored version somewhere else, ha ha. Don't know where, but I'll find a place.**

**Okay, so here's how we plotted it out. We decided each chapter is in someone else's point of view, and their point of view will never be seen again. It's just a one time perception, you know? Several people are connected with one another, as they share the same memory but they just have a different, yeah, perception. Some, they mention other memories briefly. Believe it or not, the tiniest characters whose appearances are short could have a chapter too. **

**Len and Rin, of course, when their time comes it's expected that they'll have the longest chapter ever because they have all those memories. But you ain't seeing them now. Nope, not yet.**

**Review, please? (Also if you see any typos, do tell, thank you)**

**Hopefully, we won't update incredibly late. Because we all know that both of us are lazy. **


	2. Oliver

**Client 02**

**Name: Oliver H.**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: Nineteen years, two months**

**Information: A childhood friend of Rin K., he's an introverted, slightly moody individual who has interacted with Len K. on a few occasions, all of which weren't defined as positive. He lives in America (originally from the United Kingdom), but was on vacation in Japan at the time of the incident. Witness may have romantic feelings toward Rin K., but when asked that he angrily snapped at interviewer, denying the possibility and storming out of the room. Claims that Len K. displays signs of neediness toward his sibling when being challenged.**

* * *

Len behaved strangely when guys were with Rin. Like, for instance, when I was with her. I'm not exaggerating. At all. So when Neru rang and informed me of that _particular incident_, I was shocked but... I should have seen it coming, right? But I didn't. Jesus Christ, although the thought of Len and Rin...? Rin trapped in a bedroom... it makes me sick to the stomach just even briefly thinking about it. They're siblings, and even worse, twins.

Not to mention, they'd be shunned. Considering Rin's music career, it won't be long until the tabloids get a hold of the information. They have their ways of knowing. Rin's at the hospital right now, and Kiyoteru is driving me there, since I'm a clumsy driver. It's a drizzly Sunday, and it sort of just contributes to the whole dreary mood. In the backseat of the car, I turn to face the window, pretending to watch as the rows of maple trees whizzes by, leaves wrinkled in a shade of orange. _Rin._ But really, my mind is scrambling to recover some memories.

I'm only staying in Japan for a couple of weeks. We're on vacation, and usually vacations would annoy me knowing it involves family bonding time, but realizing that Rin's here lifted my spirits a lot. I hadn't seen her face-to-face in a long time, only glimpsing her in the glossy covers of magazines. But then Neru called, which was exactly two days after I arrived.

I was looking through some college brochures in the hotel bedroom, sitting on my bed while the city still bustled with activity beyond the window. Not long after I graduated, Mum had been _agog_ about me finding a university to attend to. But, universities are really big and it tends to be difficult to get into. So, I decided to find some community colleges to apply to. Needless to say, she wasn't pleased by my decision but reluctantly allowed me, saying that I was an adult and I deserved to have my own choices.

A glance at the time told me I should probably get some rest before I started having panda eyes. It was ten at night. Extracting the last brochure out of the folder, it was at that moment my phone vibrated. At first, I barely reacted because I was so tired. Then, I blinked and slid the phone into my hand. A picture of Neru, her fore and middle finger pointed into a peace sign was on the screen. I answered.

"Hey Neru. What's up?"

"Yo! Uh... Is this a bad time?" I imagined her twirling a chunk of her hair with her finger nervously, a habit she'd retained even since middle school. I witnessed her doing it, anyway, when we had a group webcam session. "It's like, what, ten P.M. over there, right?"

"Err, no. It isn't." I tilted my head to the side, perplexed. She usually had no qualms over if it was a bad time or not, just going on ahead and telling me whatever gossip she'd retrieved. Her excited tone usually softened her manipulations. But right now, she just sounded uncharacteristically anxious. I squinted my eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Psh, of course I am..." There was somewhat of a tremble in her voice. _This can't be good_, was my first thought. I asked if she was okay again. There were some shuffling sounds in the background of wherever she was, which was most likely the confines of her bedroom. Then there was an odd sound.

A sniffle. Then another.

Oh my God. "Neru, are you _crying_?" I asked, genuinely concerned. She was silent for a moment, and then she laughed sharply like my accusation was ridiculous.

"No, of course not. Don't be stupid."

"Neru. Tell me what happened."

There was a beat of silence. Neru was trying to find the words to tell me, but every time she tried she stopped after only one word. At first, I let her because I knew she was really sensitive at the moment. But when it went on and on for seven minutes, I snapped and told her to spit it out.

"... Len... h-he..." _Len_. My breath hitched. She swallowed, then in a chastened voice she continued, "He raped Rin. H-Haku... Sh-she was c-coming back fr-from the market when..." She couldn't say anything after that, because this loud sob came from her throat that I wasn't even aware she could make. Neither could I, for a moment. I sat there on my bed. The words punched through my memories. Rin, the girl who liked feeding the ducks at the park. Who had the brightest smile ever. Who had a contagious laughter. Who liked Chick-fil-A's fries.

Finally, as calmly as I could, I asked where was Rin. She told me the address of the hospital that Haku had given her, which I slowly jotted down over the brochure. Then I thanked Neru, hung up on her and told Kiyoteru we were going somewhere the following morning. He had an unreadable expression when I told him what happened.

* * *

Yes, correspondent to popular belief, twins do have a tendency to cling on to each other. Rin and I met in a play group. I was around five or six years old at the time and my re-married mother moved to America to be with her newly found husband. My stepfather's a kind man (although I purposely avoided conversations with him for the first year)—nothing like my original who had been a bit of an alcoholic—and noticed I wasn't communicating with the other children at school. It was true.

Being in an unfamiliar place gave me horrible discomfort, since I knew no one. The fact that I'm a pretty introverted individual made it even worse. Picture an English boy on his first day of preschool, perhaps cowering in unease at the dozen of eyes staring at him in fascination. I recall having a distaste for this one kid who was chowing down on his pint of ice cream sloppily, so I had shrunk back in horror. Then I found out I had an assigned seat next to him. My luck, huh? I practically lost it when he shook my hand with his filthy, sticky, oh-so gooey one. I remember how I audibly shuddered and he acted like he didn't notice my _obvious _irritation. So I did the only sensible thing, that was quite manly if I do say so myself.

Ran to the teacher's desk, hid under there, and refused to get out even when she threatened that it would affect my school record, even though it wouldn't, that bluffing brunette of a woman.

When the teacher contacted my parents, Kiyoteru wasn't the least startled at the news like Mum was. He suggested to arrange a play group that night over dinner.

Thing is, if you don't have someone with you to face the world together, it's kind of lonely. You grow up to be a socially-awkward person. You find yourself stuttering when interacting with people, or glaring at them because you don't want to seem like a wuss. You find yourself internally screaming when the teacher tells your class, including you, to find a partner or a group. It's because, well, you don't have anyone to be with. You think to yourself that either the teacher hates your guts or they're just plain terrible at trying to help you.

A few days later on the weekend, Mum, like they said, had scheduled a time for the play groups to begin. When I went downstairs with much reluctance, there were children my age on the floor with their share of toys. Kiyoteru was speaking to one of the fathers, nodding a few times or shaking his head. I licked my lips, nervously edging by on the stairs.

I surveyed the children. They were all unique-looking, and I'm not kidding, either. They had odd hair colors, certainly not natural at all. But according to conversation I overheard Mum and one of the parents, they were. Funny thing was, the parents had the hair colors as well. I bit my lip and shyly approached the play group with my hands behind my back.

Instant smiles adorned their faces—a silver-haired boy, a redheaded male, a green-haired girl, and along with a girl with drill-ponytails. I smiled back uncertainly, still very much uncomfortable with their presence. I could already feel myself flushing out of embarrassment. When I glanced over the room more, I noticed there were a blond boy and girl sitting in the corner together facing each other. They paid no attention to me, and appeared to be engaging in a game of patty cake.

I'm not sure why I was interested in them. Rather, I was interested in the girl. She looked like she loved fun, but so did her brother. I realized they were twins, due to their identical height, matching sailor-based uniforms and other physical characteristics. Other than their gender and hair style, they were the spitting images of each other.

The girl had short hair with a white bow that resembled orange leaves perched on a matching headband. Her eyes were large and curious, like her brother's. The boy had the same hair length, but held it in a ponytail.

Then, he turned around. He'd detected that I was staring at them and pulled his sister closer to him, her face covered as hers was buried in his shoulder. He stuck out his little pink tongue at me. I may have been five at the time, but I knew someone didn't like me when I saw it.

Furrowing my eyebrows together, I shouted for Mum and she promptly advanced over to me. She knelt down and asked what was the matter, at which I quickly replied with a point of the finger, "That boy over there! He's so rude!" When I peeked over at the tot, he was locking bodies with his sister as if the world was ending, sending a _in-your-face_ expression of triumph in my direction. Mum merely smiled with amusement, the corners of her lips twitching.

"How cute." She then covered her mouth with her hand, giggling into it softly like the twins were so precious. She turned her attention back to me. "Now, Oliver. He's probably just a little protective over his sister, okay? Twins do that." I nodded, but I was still plenty suspicious. I really wanted to be friends with the girl, however with him in the way it probably wasn't possible.

Later on, Mum laid all the toys on the floor. Blocks, Lego, dolls, the usual stuff. She convinced me go on and play with the others while she retrieved some snacks and drinks.

I tried to, I really did. I managed to play with the boy with silver hair, Piko, who's still my friend to this day. But truthfully, we didn't have much in common. He loved music, whereas I preferred silence. It's more peaceful and you have time to just think. I caught a glance at the twins. They didn't bother to play with the others. Instead, they were running around the room chasing each other. I asked Piko if he knew them, and he shrugged. He never saw them before, either.

Finally, Mum brought the food. She set down a plate of apple slices, cookies, and celery. For the record, no one ate the celery. Not even a nibble. For drinks, she had the options of orange juice or chocolate milk. Since I didn't like neither of them, I asked if she could just give me regular white milk. She agreed, and Piko said he wanted some as well. That was one thing we had in common, at least.

Come to think of it, he could be a good actor in a commercial promoting a brand of white milk. He still reminds me of a cat, what with his mismatched eyes and the uniform he wears on a standard performance day. That strange USB cord that sticks out?

Kiyoteru who hadn't done much before, brought out little tables for us and arranged groups. The twins were separated by their dad's request, much to their distress, and the girl was sitting at my table with Piko and I. She kept exchanging nervous looks with her brother, and when her mum told her not to, she became intent on drinking her orange juice to cut all ties with Piko and I. She seemed really fond of it, though, because she finished it in a matter of a minute and a half.

Piko was really shy, and he stammered a lot. When I said something insensitive, he cringed and shut up right then. Piko and I also discussed about general topics, like what preschool we attended. It turned out he just moved here, too, and was joining my class in a week. I guess that's probably why he never saw the twins before. Anyway, I was overjoyed to hear this, and I told him we could hang out at recess.

Rin watched and listened to us at some point. When she ran out of orange juice, she didn't have anything else to do so I suppose she chose to finally pay attention to us. Even when Mum refilled her cup, she continued to listen. Thing is, I speak with my hands too and when I was exaggerating a tale, I accidentally knocked over her orange juice and the liquid spilled on her outfit, some of her face, and arms. She blinked at first, startled, until a look of fury registered on her face upon realizing what just happened.

"Hey!" In a subtle act of revenge, she lifted up my glass of milk and poured it over me. My hair was dripping of the white milk now, and then she grinned in satisfaction. Piko's eyes just flitted from me to her, over and over with his mouth agape.

Then Rin started to laugh. I began to giggle, too, (as unmanly as it sounds) but her laugh was and is really contagious. Piko smiled, even.

I happened to look over her shoulder while I was, and my laughter burst like a bubble and faded away when I saw her brother. He looked immeasurably jealous for a little kid, tugging either side of his hair. When he caught me staring, his eyes widened slightly and he resumed to his previous position, turning back to stare at the wall.

Thankfully, Mum wasn't angry with me or her. She guided us to the kitchen and gave us paper towels, allowing us to clean up ourselves. She left us, and I apologized for spilling her orange juice.

"Sorry for spilling your milk," she said sheepishly. Her eyes brightened. "Hey, hey, what school do you go to?"

"Oh, Butterfly Oaks," I replied, dabbing my face with the towel. Her face fell, her bottom lip ejecting to a pout.

"I don't go there... But I live next door. We can play again!" she exclaimed, happy again. For being next door, I didn't see her around much. "I'm Rin, and my brother's name is Len."

"Oliver." I gave her a small smile. We hadn't even been able to utter another word when her brother burst through the door. He was panting as though he'd literally rushed over.

"Len?" She blinked, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Len was, well, in short, appearing seriously worried for her. Then he glanced at me. There was something in his eyes...? Sadness? I bit my lower lip, deciding that it was best not to say anything.

Shifting his attention back to Rin, his expression softened in an instant. "Rin, we should probably come back home, right? Your clothes are so wet."

"Ummm..." She took hold of her shirt, examining it. "It's not that wet, Len."

He pouted. "You'll catch a cold, you know! Come on, I already told the lady."

She opened her mouth to argue, then shut it and grinned. "Okay. Are we gonna play hide and seek?"

"Mm-hmm!" He nodded eagerly, like it didn't matter as long as he was allowed to be alone with her. I watched, speculating to myself silently if they forgot about my presence or not until Rin glanced over at me.

"_You_ can come over later!" she announced. She clapped her hands, like she was congratulating me and continued, "We can play hide and seek. Len's a good seeker! He can always find me! This time, it'll be lots and lots more fun because you'll be there!"

I was happy by that offer. Len's smile faltered, though. _But I thought nothing of it_. Maybe he just didn't like sharing his sister, and never had to begin with. Or he didn't like me, period.

So after our meeting, I often went over to their apartment, and Rin and I became good friends. Her parents looked really happy when I came over, for whatever reason. Len had no comment in the matter, or at least not to my knowledge. All I know is that every time I came over, he'd get up from whatever he was doing prior to my arrival and lock himself in his room. Rin would try to stop him or get him out, but to no avail so she simply gave up and played with me. She had a large collection of dolls, and even a mini-dream house.

Such innocence back then...

* * *

I snort, remembering the time me and Rin fought over this one doll donned in a pink glittery dress. I wanted to be that character, since it was the prettiest of them all. Kiyoteru, from the front seat, steals a glance at me with a confused look on his face before turning back to face the road. "Oliver, are you okay?"

I'm suddenly conscious that at some points when I was looking back on my childhood, I could have made some reactions like scrunching up my face in repulsion when I remembered Kaito. It may have made me look like I was bi-polar. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

"All right..." Kiyoteru still has this suspicious look on his face. I think he's considering to take me to a therapist. The car lurches to a stop, since we've reached a stoplight. He takes this chance to strike up a conversation, tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel. "So... About your friend. Lin?"

"Rin." I pretend that I'm using my mind to blow the beads of water across the car window, trying to preoccupy myself. Still, I can't help but feel irritated he mixed her name up. How hard can it be? It's only three letters, _and _it's a single syllable. The name belongs to a one-of-a-kind girl.

"Oh, yes. Rin." He nods and views his left window, probably recollecting his thoughts, too. "Do you think she's all right?"

I sigh, resting my cheek on my hand with my arm propped up against the vehicle's interior door. "I don't know. I haven't talked to her in ages." Kiyoteru twists his lips in a way that implies he regrets asking the question. Maybe he feels guilty. I think he has this bizarre belief I'm in love with Rin or something. He's never told it to me directly like a good father he is. But I'm_ not _in love with Rin or anything. I'm sure of it. Sure, she may have brought light to my world and she may have made me happier back then, but I'm definitely not in love with her.

_Tch_.

Back to Kiyoteru, now, I wonder if he knows why she and her family moved away. Just leaving out of nowhere. All I saw was the moving truck and a glimpse of Rin's hair. The reason couldn't be more clear than it already is.

The aggressive asshole of a twin brother, that's who.

With a slightly unenthusiastic shrug I add helpfully, "I mean, after she moved, we found each other in middle school on this website." And because of that, I met her other friends, too. Neru being one of them, who stayed in America like me instead of grabbing a music career off in a country on the other side of the globe. "Then..." I found my voice trailing off. It scares me. "She deactivated her account for some reason without telling me. Just like when she moved." Again, the possible reason? The asshole brother who just can't _stand _letting her get close with another bloke, even if he doesn't intend to be intimate with her.

"Her brother," he mutters. At first, my mind just briefly tells me he probably read my thoughts or something, but then it registers. I swivel around so fast, a cramp slices through my left shoulder.

"What?!" I ask unnecessarily loudly.

"Nothing, nothing," he says hurriedly, his hand waving dismissively. Then the stoplight turns green and he starts to drive again. The way he's so quiet obviously says he thinks him driving will automatically make me forget the conversation. But I don't forget. And I certainly won't let the topic get away from me so quickly.

My eyes narrow. "...You knew, didn't you." It doesn't come off as a question but more as an order. It's only phrased to look like one. Funny how intonation can change something, right to the core. It's filled with malice after all.

He answers so quietly I have to strain my ears to hear. "Everyone knew."

The rest of the car ride is filled with pin-drop silence. I don't speak, he doesn't speak, we just take in on it and the words he uttered. Everyone knew. Or, they sensed it. Like I had myself, but thought nothing of it. Just... normal overprotective brother stuff. Eerie stuff, but...

If you don't have someone with you to face the world together, it's kind of lonely. But I suppose when you have a twin, you feel like you could face the world together. You're never quite alone, because there's someone with you by your side. And like it or not, they'll always be with you. In your soul, your heart...

I wonder if that's how Len felt.

* * *

**Oliver's somewhat of a tsundere, pfffffff- Also, he has both eyes intact here, thank you very much. You can see here that Len wasn't always looking at people with hatred. :'D Just something else, that Oliver couldn't find the right word to describe. **

**(No one but Haku [and Rin herself] knew Rin was engaged, all right? Mysterious husband, ohoho.)**

**Review, yeah? (Additionally: thank you for the people who reviewed last chapter, may you live happily ever after!)**


End file.
